Tag Archives: red pepper

Red Thai Tofu with Sesame Rice Noodles

Posted on February 9, 2011 | Leave a comment

I love it when I can grab a bunch of stuff out of my fridge and create a great recipe.  Turns out Isa Chandra Moskowicz and I obviously share an icebox.  I got into Isa’s cookbooks only recently as I am not Vegan, only Vegan-ish.  I’m considered Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian, so it was just a bit ago that I discovered that her TV show Post Punk Kitchen is now available on Google Video.  As a side note, I’m happy to say that this Oprah mainstream stuff did not inspire me to go Veg or Vegan for that matter and I don’t rely on a personal chef to cook my meals for me.  Hell, if I have a personal chef, of course I’d be Vegan!!!!!  I’d also have a personal trainer, a car service, a magical camera to make me look skinny from all angles, the list goes on, and on.  However, I don’t live on Fantasy Island and I certainly do not have humpback whales to give each of you just for reading this blog, nor do I plan to build a school in Africa or buy a TV channel.  Sorry guys, I can see me slipping from your good graces one-by-one.  I want to be able to thank Oprah for the Vegan push, but I feel like she probably just bought the Teese Vegan Cheese Company (yeah, they are in Chicago) and wants to increase sales or something.  I know.  Glass half full as usual.

At any rate, back to Isa, goddess of Vegan cooking.  Here is what I most recently made as inspired by her highness:  Red Thai Tofu from her newest and greatest Appetite for Reduction.

Red Thai Tofu with Sesame Rice Noodles

I used Tamari in place of soy sauce in this recipe to make it Gluten Free

  • 1 block extra-firm tofu, pressed and cut into triangle pieces
  • 1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced thinly
  • 1/2 C sliced shallots (which is a TON of those little buggers)
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 Tbs fresh ginger, minced
  • 1 1/2 Tbs Thai red curry paste
  • 1/2 C warm water
  • 2 Tbs Tamari (or soy sauce)
  • 1 Tbs light agave nectar (or maple syrup, or honey would be fine too)
  • 15 leaves fresh Thai basil
  • 1/4 C roasted salted cashews, chopped

Preheat a cast iron grill pan (or any heavy non-stick skillet) over medium heat.  Add the tofu and cook for about 10 minutes, careful not to burn, just brown both sides.  Take care while flipping the tofu in cast iron not to tear it, use a thin spatula, metal works better than plastic here.  About half way through, drizzle with 2 tsp of the tamari and turn to coat.

Remove tofu, set aside and saute’ the red pepper, shallots, garlic, and ginger in the oil that is left, careful not to burn the garlic.  Cook until translucent.  Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together the curry past, water, tamari, and agave.  Add tofu back to pan with the curry mix and cook for another 5 minutes or until the sauce is thick.  Add Thai basil, toss one last time and serve.

Okay, so when I was looking at this finished dish, it needed a bed of something.  Serve this on greens, or any grain you like, it goes well with everything.  I grabbed some leftover stick rice noodles, cooked them in hot water per the package instructions, then drained them and tossed with 2 tsp of roasted sesame oil-this made a delish bed for the tofu.

Lastly, there were two other things I was going to toss on top of this delicious mess, fresh bean sprouts and a bit of chopped red onion, but I of course forgot them as I was so excited to eat 🙂

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Posted in Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

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Yahtzee! Red Pepper SALE=Spicy Red Pepper Soup

Posted on February 3, 2011 | 1 comment

Some like it HOT.  I for one, basically drink Frank’s Red Hot. It has some kind of hold on me.  A sale on red peppers is like hitting 3 or 4 numbers in the lotto, not the full monty, but you still get an excellent monetary reward…especially at D & W.  So when I saw red bell peppers, 10 for $10 dollars and sprinted to the produce shelf, leaving poor Mr. Wonderful in the dust returning with 20 red bell peppers, he had no idea what had just happened.  Since he knows better than to actually ask about such things, he agreed to just wait for the finished product which we lapped up 2 days in a row and several lunch servings later.

This recipe was adapted from the klutzychef at her blog; check her out she is cute and honest…and talks about burning Rice Krispie treats, my kind of gal.

Roasted Red Pepper Soup

serves 4 people as a main meal

Ingredients

  • 8 red bell peppers, roasted (no, it does NOT taste the same if you use canned-just roast them in your oven..super easy)
  • 1 baked medium russet potato, smashed
  • 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
  • 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
  • 1/4 cup half and half
  • 2 medium chopped onions
  • 6 garlic cloves peeled and left whole
  • 2 tsp roasted red pepper flakes (half of this for a milder soup)
  • 1 tsp chipotle powder (omit for mild soup, I like to hurt myself eating soup like this…)
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 2 cups crushed tomatoes (16 oz)
  • 1 3/4 cups reduced-fat coconut milk (or whole fat, whatever)
  • 2 cups veggie broth or water

Directions

  1. Bake your potato, set aside to cool.  Roast your peppers, whole, washed and then coated lightly with EVOO or canola oil on a foil-lined (you will thank me later for this step) jelly roll pan at 400 or so until they are black, yes, black.  Set them aside in a tightly covered bowl to cool and then stem, seed, and peel them.  This is not hard, suck it up and do it.  Seriously, the taste is worth it.
  2. In a covered non-reactive pot, heat oil in a dutch oven on medium-high heat.
  3. Add onions, carrots, salt, pepper flakes, chipotle powder, and garlic.  Sauté on medium heat for 15 minutes or until onions are soft and translucent.  DO NOT INHALE DEEPLY when you put the flakes and powder to the oil.  You might want to turn on the fan for a few minutes or suffer for about an hour.
  4. Remove the pot from heat and add canned tomatoes, red peppers, coconut milk, smashed potato guts, half/half and broth/water.
  5. Mix together so ingredients are fully integrated.
  6. Now, in batches, add the soup to a blender or food processor to mix all together.  An immersion blender works beautifully here as well since you can just throw it right into the pot.  If you have a dish towel to spare and are using a standing blender, you may want to put the towel under the cover to prevent hot soup from spilling out the top.
  7. Keep warm until ready to serve on stove over low.
  8. Top with Frank’s Red Hot (I know it’s too much, but it’s soooooo good).

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Posted in Leftovers, Make Ahead, Recipes, Soup

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